(Updates with closing prices, adds analyst comment)
* Wheat, corn rise from four-year lows
* Soybeans also benefit from bargain buying
* Weather outlook limits gains
By Mark Weinraub
CHICAGO, July 14 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean, corn and wheat
futures firmed on Monday, bouncing off multiyear lows due to a
mild round of bargain buying and short covering, traders said.
But forecasts for excellent growing weather across broad
stretches of the Midwest during the next two weeks limited gains
as little stress is expected on both corn and soybeans,
bolstering expectations of a bumper harvest.
"The weather continues to be excellent for crop
development," Sterling Smith, futures specialist at Citigroup,
said in a note to clients. "Short covering does not look to be
much of a threat at the moment, and the U.S. farmer is a little
behind the curve on getting items sold, so any rallies will
likely find swift resistance."
Chicago Board of Trade September corn futures settled
3-3/4 cents higher at $3.81-1/2 a bushel, snapping a
nine-session losing streak. Corn futures hit fresh contract lows
during the overnight trading session before finding some
technical support.
"Like the rest of the floor, the corn rallied a bit on short
covering as the charts turned up from being severely
oversold," Charlie Sernatinger, analyst with ED&F Man Capital,
said in a note to clients.
CBOT August soybean futures were up 1-1/4 cents at
$11.97 a bushel and CBOT soft red winter wheat for September
delivery was 11-3/4 cents higher at $5.37-3/4 a bushel.
Wheat hit its lowest level in four years and soybeans their
lowest in 2-1/2 years on Friday following a bearish U.S.
government report that forecast plentiful supplies of both
grains and oilseeds.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture report on Monday afternoon
was expected to show that the condition of the U.S. soybean crop
held steady at a 20-year high during the past week, with corn
ratings likely to equal their best in 14 years, according to a
Reuters poll.
"There are some pretty big numbers being projected. We are
looking at big yields for corn and soybeans in the U.S.," said
Paul Deane, senior agricultural economist at ANZ Bank in
Melbourne.
In U.S. cents, benchmark contracts, except EU wheat (euros) and
soymeal (dollars). CBOT wheat, corn and soybeans per bushel,
rice per hundredweight, soymeal per ton and soyoil per lb.
Prices at 2:44 p.m. CDT (1944 GMT)
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
CBOT corn 381.50 3.25 0.9% -9.6%
CBOT soy 1196.25 1.25 0.1% -8.9%
CBOT meal 388.50 0.80 0.2% -11.2%
CBOT soyoil 36.88 0.11 0.3% -5.0%
CBOT wheat 537.75 11.75 2.2% -11.2%
CBOT rice 1291.00 -31.00 -2.4% -16.8%
EU wheat 184.25 -1.75 -1.0% -11.8%
US crude 101.08 0.24 0.3% 2.7%
Dow Jones 17,054 111 0.7% 2.9%
Gold 1308.64 -29.20 -2.2% 8.6%
Euro/dollar 1.3616 0.0008 0.1% -0.3%
Dollar Index 80.1870 0.0000 0.0% 0.2%
Baltic Freight 798 -16 -2.0% -65.0%
(Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Sarah
McFarlane in London, editing by G Crosse and Matthew Lewis)

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